Social Sciences

A man makes a hugging gesture intertwining his fingers together

Social SciencesJuly 23, 2026

Tom Hiddleston on Pompeii, Mount Vesuvius and the human stories frozen in time

Actor Tom Hiddleston reflects on the first time he visited Pompeii as a teenager and explains why the ancient city’s preserved tragedy continues to shape his understanding of history and humanity

Brianne Kane

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director Michael Kratsios testifies before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on January 14, 2026.

PolicyJuly 22, 2026

U.S. pledges $5 billion to boost AI in government-backed scientific research

The White House’s senior science adviser faced questions over research funding cuts from lawmakers on Wednesday

Adam Kovac

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PaleontologyJuly 14, 2026

T. rex fossil named ‘Gus’ becomes the most expensive dinosaur sold at auction

This massive dinosaur skeleton sold for more than $50.1 million on Tuesday

Claire Cameron

White House Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought testifies before the Senate Committee on Appropriations about the Trump administration’s attempt to trim government spending in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 25, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

PolicyJuly 13, 2026

Scientists overwhelmingly against rule change that would give political appointees say over science grants

Hundreds of thousands of scientists, including Nobel laureates, warn that changes to the way federal grants are approved would greatly damage American science

Adam Kovac

A Manhattan skyscraper under construction and showing signs of damage

ArchitectureJuly 7, 2026

Why are the steel beams inside a Manhattan skyscraper buckling?

Steel support columns in the Midtown building, which is being converted from offices into apartments, may have been overloaded, experts say

Adam Kovac, Sanidhya Sharma

Pigment sampling at a claviform rock art figure in Tebellín, Spain.

ArtsJuly 2, 2026

Ancient cave paintings can harbor human DNA for millennia, scientists find

The breakthrough could reveal previously hidden ancient human activity inside caves acting as “genetic archives”

Tom Metcalfe

ArchaeologyJune 19, 2026

Ancient human ancestors may have first used fire 1.79 million years ago

A new method that detects whether bones have been burned reveals Homo erectus brought fires into caves far earlier than previous evidence had suggested

Sahas Mehra

Reconstruction of summer solstice celebrations as they might have appeared at Bulford, England, 5,000 years ago.

ArchaeologyJune 18, 2026

Ancient worshipers gathered at a ‘prototype’ Stonehenge to celebrate the solstices, new analysis reveals

These ruins, located just five kilometers from Stonehenge, likely laid the groundwork for religious rites celebrating the longest and shortest days of the year

Adam Kovac